Tourists and strippers - Liminal theater

This paper is based upon participant observation at a striptease club in Au stralia. it is argued that striptease is a forgotten section of ses tourism that within its rituals both challenges and exemplifies generally understo od notions of male-female relationships. Simple dominant male-subordinate f emale or dominant female-submissive male explanations continually break dow n as the ritual is deconstructed. The paper is a contribution. albeit incom plete, to the literature of sex tourism. Further, in examining a situation of social touristic marginality, the striptease club has parallels with oth er forms of tourism wherein the constructs of power are subject to a gaze w hereby the nor mai is made strange and the strange normal.